What Indian Businesses Are Asking AI?

Table of Contents

Insights from User Queries to Freya, an AI Accounting Assistant

Refrens.com has recently launched Freya, an AI accounting assistant that helps entrepreneurs get insights into their business in real-time. This report is an attempt to understand how businesses in India are leveraging AI and the most pressing questions entrepreneurs have about their businesses.

The landscape of business technology is rapidly evolving. Indian enterprises are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities.

This report dives into the specific questions that Indian businesses have asked Refrens’ AI accounting assistant. By analyzing these questions, we can gain valuable insights into the priorities and challenges faced by these businesses as they navigate the complexities of financial management and growth.

Summary of Key Findings:

Analysis of 30,452 questions from 1,043 businesses reveals a strong focus on financial performance and operational metrics, with Profitability Insights (27%) and Payment Insights (23%) emerging as top priorities for businesses.
Sales performance monitoring is also significant, accounting for 17.5% of queries, indicating that businesses are keen on understanding their product performance and customer behavior.
The average of 29.2 questions per business in the last 30 days indicates high engagement with the AI assistant, suggesting that users are actively seeking actionable insights to enhance their operations.
Additionally, there is a notable interest in optimizing processes and improving operational efficiency, as reflected in the queries related to expense tracking and first-time setup help.
Clear pattern of businesses seeking automated, proactive insights rather than basic reporting.

The Questions India’s Business Owners Are Asking to AI

For this study, we analyzed a total of 30,452 questions asked by 1,043 businesses from India. Based on this analysis, we categorized these questions into eight major categories (and sub-categories), each reflecting distinct areas of interest and concern for business owners.

To provide a clearer understanding of the types of inquiries made, we have included sample questions for each category.

It is important to note that these sample questions are not selected based on their frequency. They actually serve to illustrate the variety and specificity of the questions posed by users. Each question reflects the unique challenges and considerations that businesses face in their operations, highlighting the diverse applications of AI in addressing these needs.

Sr. No.	Category	Sample Questions	% Share of Total Questions
1	Profitability Insights	“Based on my revenue and expenses, what’s my net margin trend over the last 3 quarters?” “If one salesperson drove 40% of the revenue, can you compare their client types to others?” “Which of my services are driving profitability?” “Who contributed most to revenue growth?” “If my net margin dropped in Q3, can you highlight which cost centers increased?” “Which sales regions are underperforming?” “If a sales region is underperforming, is it due to fewer leads or lower conversion?”	27%
2	Payment Insights	“Which clients have consistently delayed payments over the past 6 months?” “What’s the average payment time across invoices this year?” “If my average payment cycle time is increasing, which industries or client sizes are responsible?” “Can you compare canceled invoices this year vs last?” “Which unpaid invoices are nearing due date?” “What is my collection efficiency?” “If my collection efficiency dropped below 90%, can you segment the problem by client type?”	23%
3	Sales Insights	“Which product category has the highest repeat purchase rate?” “How has my best-selling product’s performance changed over time?” “If my best-selling product’s performance is declining, is pricing or market saturation the cause?” “Which pricing tier delivers the highest conversion rates, and how does that vary by segment?” “Are there SKUs that haven’t moved in the last 60 days? Should they be retired or discounted?” “Can you break down revenue contribution by service category and suggest high-performing areas?”	17.50%
4	Growth & Lead Activity	“Which of my lead sources delivers the highest conversion rates?” “Where in my sales pipeline do most leads drop off?” “If most drop-offs happen in the Proposal Sent stage, what improvements can be made?” “How many new leads are GST-verified, and does that affect close probability?” “If staff leads are unevenly distributed, how does that impact team efficiency?” “Which marketing campaigns generated the highest-quality, revenue-converting leads?” “How much revenue is stuck in lost or inactive pipelines?”	9.75%
5	First-time Setup Help	“How should I structure financial categories for a clean and insightful P&L?” “If I run an e-commerce store, which custom fields should be enabled for analytics?” “What’s the best practice for setting invoice frequency based on client type?” “If my sales process has over five steps, can you help me templatize it for scale?” “What onboarding steps should I prioritize for faster revenue realization?” “Can you recommend a default client segmentation strategy for better reporting from the start?” “If I want to automate tasks like invoice reminders or lead tagging, where should I begin?”	8.75%
6	Expense Tracking	“Which expense categories are trending higher this quarter, and why?” “Which vendor has the highest outflow?” “If vendor outflows exceeded ₹50,000 last month, who were the top contributors?” “What is my expense-to-income ratio trend?” “Which expenses can I optimize?” “If I have recurring costs with low ROI, should they be paused or renegotiated?” “Can you show the share of recurring vs. one-time business expenses this fiscal year?”	5.75%
7	General Platform Guidance	“Can Refrens alert me to compliance risks (like GST mismatches)?” “If I want to scale faster, which automation rules should be enabled first?” “How do I integrate international payment channels for cross-border invoicing?” “If different client segments respond better to different reminders, can I customize timing?” “Which features improve my collection cycle the most?” “How can I benchmark my business automation usage against top-performing peers on the platform?”	4.75%
8	Other Functional Queries	“Which user roles are most active on my account?” “If 40% of my platform’s features are unused, can Freya recommend quick wins?” “Can I benchmark my performance and usage patterns against similar businesses?” “What’s the ROI of my current Refrens usage?” “Should I upgrade to a higher plan based on my usage trends, or optimize current workflows?” “Can I customize dashboards for team-specific workflows and visibility?”	3.50%

% of Businesses Asking Questions From A Particular Category

Sr. No.	Category	Sub-category	% of Businesses Asking These Questions
		Services Driving Profitability	43%
1	Profitability Insights	Net Margin Trend	35%
		Revenue Growth Contributors	32%

		Consistently Delayed Clients	52%
2	Payment Insights	Collection Efficiency	38%
		Highest Repeat Purchase Rate	37%

		Best-selling Product Changes	34%
3	Sales Insights	Average Payment Time	26%
		SKU Retirement	20%

		Highest Conversion Leads	42%
4	Growth & Lead Activity	Pipeline Drop-offs	34%
		Marketing Campaigns	31%

		Financial Categories	35%
5	First-time Setup Help	Invoice Frequency	30%
		E-commerce Fields	20%

		Trending Expense Categories	33%
6	Expense Tracking	Expense Optimization	28%
		Vendor Outflows	27%

		Automation Rules	40%
7	General Platform Guidance	Compliance Alerts	35%
		Payment Channels	34%

		ROI Assessment	34%
8	Other Functional Queries	User Roles Activity	26%
		Feature Usage Quick Wins	25%

Understanding User Queries:
The Answers Indian Businesses Are Looking For

“Most business owners rely on outsourced accountants or junior assistants to get the insights they need into their business. However, this approach has three significant drawbacks: it takes 2-3 days to receive information, the exact context often gets lost in conversations, and it causes a lot of anxiety to the business owner,” explains Naman Sarawagi, CEO of Refrens. “AI tools like FREYA are fundamentally changing how business owners interact with their financial data – making real-time, insight-driven decision-making accessible to everyone.”

The data collected from user inquiries indicates a clear emphasis on financial performance, operational efficiency, and growth. The most significant category of inquiries pertains to Profitability Insights, which accounted for 27% of the total queries. Users are particularly interested in understanding their net margin trends, identifying which services drive profitability, and analyzing revenue growth contributors. This emphasis on profitability indicates that businesses are keen to optimize their financial performance and make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.

Following closely is the Payment Insight category, which represents 23% of the questions. Here, users are focused on understanding payment behaviors, such as identifying clients who consistently delay payments and analyzing average payment times across invoices. This concern highlights the importance of cash flow management for businesses, as timely payments are crucial for maintaining financial health.

Sales Insights also play a significant role, accounting for 17.5% of the queries. Businesses are interested in tracking the performance of their best-selling products, understanding repeat purchase rates, and determining the factors affecting sales performance. This focus on sales metrics underscores the need for businesses to adapt their strategies to meet customer demands and optimize their product offerings.

Key Themes and Insights

The analysis of user queries reveals several key themes that reflect the current priorities of Indian businesses.

Focus on Financial Health

The predominant interest in profitability and payment insights indicates that businesses are prioritizing their financial health. They seek to understand their margins, optimize revenue streams, and improve payment collection processes to ensure stability and growth. This focus is critical, especially in a competitive market where financial agility can determine success.

Operational Efficiency

Many queries revolve around optimizing processes and improving efficiency. Users frequently ask about automation, expense tracking, and strategies for enhancing operational workflows. This suggests that businesses are looking for ways to streamline their operations and reduce costs. The desire for operational efficiency is indicative of a broader trend where companies are increasingly adopting technology to enhance productivity and minimize waste.

Growth and Lead Management

The inquiries related to sales and lead activity highlight a strong desire for growth. Businesses are keen to identify high-converting lead sources, understand their sales pipelines, and optimize their marketing efforts to drive revenue. This focus on growth metrics reflects an understanding that in order to thrive, businesses must not only maintain existing customers but also actively seek new opportunities.

Actionable Insights Over Basic Reporting

The nature of the questions indicates a preference for actionable insights rather than mere reporting metrics. Users are looking for specific recommendations and analyses that can directly inform their business strategies. This trend underscores the importance of providing not just data, but also context and guidance that can help businesses make informed decisions.

Conclusion

The questions posed by Indian businesses to Freya illustrate a clear focus on financial performance, operational efficiency, and growth.

As these enterprises continue to embrace AI technologies, the insights gained from user queries will be invaluable in shaping the development of AI tools that cater to their specific needs.

By addressing the challenges and priorities highlighted in these inquiries, AI solutions like Freya can empower businesses to make informed decisions, optimize their operations, and ultimately drive sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

The findings suggest that as businesses navigate the complexities of the modern market, the integration of AI will play a pivotal role in enhancing their capabilities and ensuring long-term success.

Refrens.com is an Indian startup based out of Surat, Gujarat, and Bangalore, Karnataka. Over 1.5 lakh businesses across 170+ countries rely on Refrens’ AI-powered platform to manage Invoicing, Accounting, Payments, Compliance, Expenses, Inventory, Clients, Vendors, and Sales – all in one place.

Refrens has raised funding from CRED founder Kunal Shah, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Indiamart founder Dinesh Agarwal, Shaadi.com founder & Shark Tank judge Anupam Mittal, and Cashfree Payments founder Akash Sinha, among others.